Soybean exporter wins state grant to expand Windsor processing plant

A state grant expected to be announced by Gov. Terry McAuliffe Monday will help a soybean processing facility expand operations in Isle of Wight County and break into a whole new international market.

The Windsor facility is run by Montague Farms Inc., a family-owned and operated business that grows, processes and exports edible soybeans. Opened in 2007, the facility has been a launching point for the company to ship its products to Japan and other Far East markets where there is a great demand for soybeans.

The grant, which is contingent upon the company's own investment and a match from the county, will help Montague Farms expand the facility by insulating a warehouse and installing a fully automated paper-bagging line.

McAuliffe will officially announce the grant and expansion at the Windsor facility on Monday.

The bagging line, which is partially completed, has enabled the company to break into the South Korean soybean sprout market, according to Tom Taliaferro, the facility's business manager. The South Korean market requires that the sprouts be imported in 25 kilogram paper bags, Taliaferro said. Montague Farms has already begun shipping the sprouts.

Montague Farms draws soybeans from farms as far away as Maryland and North Carolina, but most of the soybean sprouts involved with this new venture will come from farmers in Isle of Wight County, Taliaferro said.

The premium on edible varieties of soybeans translates to more money for the farmers who grow them, he said.

"We're not adding a ton of jobs, but hopefully we're creating a broader economic benefit," Taliaferro said. The processing plant has brought on two new employees to help with the bagging line and plans to add a third.

State and local officials and representatives from Montague would not disclose the amount of the grant, which came from the governor's Agriculture and Forestry Industrial Development fund.

Virginia Secretary of Agriculture and Forestry Todd Haymore said the fund is aimed at promoting domestic development, but that he was excited that this particular grant was serving a dual purpose by also growing exports.

Exports now account for 30 percent of all farm revenues and that number is growing, Haymore said, but farms aren't the only ones profiting. Industries involved in the shipping, storage, financing and sale of agricultural products, all the way down to people working on the docks in the Port of Virginia, benefit from sending products out into the world.

"To me, that is a beautiful sweet spot to be in, when you are working to create more job opportunities in Virginia and creating more export opportunities in the global market," Haymore said.

This is the second agricultural grant for a company in Isle of Wight — the first was a $150,000 dollar incentive for Franklin Lumber LLC, a company created by former employees who purchased and reopened the Franklin sawmill last year.